Beet-harvester.



T S. MOORE.

BEET HARVESTER.

1 H APPUCATION HLED OCT. I. I913. 1 EZ;=5,@48. Patented June 8, 191.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES P TENT oFFioEJ THOMAS S. MOORE, 0F SHOSHONI, WYOMING,-ASSIG 1\TOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 MORE WILLIAMS, 0F WHEA ILANID, WYOMING.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedo'une 8, 1915.

Applicationfiledflctober'll, I913. Enerial'fl'o. 794,684.

To all'whom it may concern Be it known that I, THoMAs S. Moolin, citizenof the United States, residing at Shoshoni, in the county of 'Fremontand State of Wyoming, have invented certain.

new and :useful Improvements in Beet- Harv'csters, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This 'inventlon relates to beet harvesters,

ground at the sides of'the row and-thebeets being conveyed to areceptacle rat thefrear of the machine.

One-object of the invention is to provide novel means whereby thedrooping or spreading tops will'be bunched so as ito'beli'ectuallymemoved from the plant's.

Another'objec't ofthe invention is-to provide novel supports for thebeet'topping and gathering rollers, and a further object of theinvention is to improve, generally, the construction andarrangement ofthe parts of a beet harvesting machine to the-endthat the efiiciency anddurability of thesame may be increased 'while 'thecost 'of manufacturewill be 'kept upon aneconomical basis.

Other incidental objects of the invention wi1l=appear asthe descriptionof the same proceeds, and the invention consists in oer-1 tain novelfeatures which Will be hereinafter first fullydescribed-and thenmoreparticularly pointed out in the claims following the description.

The invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a beet harvesterembodying my present improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the means for bunching the topsand separatingthe same from the plants; Fig. 4 is a detailperspectiveg'ietv of one of thegathering and topping rollers.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a frame 1 which may be of anyconvenient dimensions and, of any preferred detailed construction. Thisframe is equipped at its front-end with a draft pole ortongue 2 and inthe sides of the frame is journaled an axle 3 upon which are fittedground wheels 4 adapted to actuate the axle through the well knownescape'ment devices'in order'that the difference in speed of the twowheels when the machine .is turning a corner may beaccommodated. I

The plows 7,;which are designed to run in the ground along ,therow ofplants and at opposite sides of the plants in the row, are secured toand carried'byth'e lower e'nds of standards 8 which 'have theirupperends marged into forwardly extending beams '9 and the said'beamsare'securedatth'eir front ends'to a hanger 10 which'extends upwardlythrough-fa slotted bracket or 'othersupport il -secured upon the frame 1of the machine. I his hanger 10 is adjustably secured in the saidbracket by a pin 12 inserted through any one of perforations l8 in thehanger and I through suitable'openings in the sides of the bracket 11,as will be. readily understood. The front endsof the beams maythus'beadjusted to any desired height'and the depth at which the working 'partsmay travel thus regulated. It willbeseen atoms that this constructionprovides a very'simple means whereby the plows 'and the gathering andtoppin'g rollers may-be lowered to act upon the beets, as shown in Fig.1, or may be raised so as to *travel clear of'th'e surface of theground, when the machine 'is not to *opera'tefand is 'beingfira'wn fromfield to field or being taken to a storehouse. To the lower-end of thehanger 10 and on the "front --'side thereof I secure a bracket 14 whichis in the form of an arch, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, and secured tothe. lower ends of the said bracket and projecting forwardly therefromare the deflectors 15 which have their front-ends oppositely beveled sothat as the said deflectors move forwardly along the *row of plants'their front beveled ends will take under and lift upth'e'top's ofthebeets, so that the said-tops will begathered=together=and*passbetween the deflectors -in a bunch which maybereadily and positively engaged by the topping rollers 16. The-saidtopping rollers are disposed longitudinally in rear of the 'respectivedeflectors and are provided at their rear ends with intermeshing pinions17, the'said rear ends of the rollers being journaled in a bracket 18.which is secured to a hanger 19 rising between the plow beams 9 andadjustably,

" tending. over each roller and secured to the the axle.

respective deflector and to the rear hanger 19 and the bracket 18 is askid 22. which in- "clines downwardly and outwardly from the:

adjacent deflector and roller so thatthe tops pulled from the beets bythe said rollers will fall onto .the'said skids and be thereby deliveredupon the groundat the sides of the row. Motion is imparted to thetopping rollers 16 through a flexible shaft 23 which has its front endsecured to the rear end of one of the rollers and extends substantiallylongitudinally of the frame with its rear portion journaled in suitablebearings upon cross'bars ofthe .frame in advance of The rear end of thesaid shaft is equipped with a pinion 24 which meshes with a gear wheel25 fitted loosely upon the axle and having its hub elongated at one sideandconstructed with a ratchet or clutch face 26, asshown most clearly inFig. 2. A coacting clutch member 27 is splined upon the axle and isshiftable longitudinally of the same by means of a lever 28 which isfulcrumed upon the frame-in any convenient manner. When the lever ismanipulated to disengage the clutch members, the machine maytravelwithout actuating the working meehanismand when it is desired to actupon the plants it is necessary only to shift the clutch member 27 intoengagement with the clutch hubj26, whereupon the gear wheel will beactuated.

' The plows 7 will, of course, run directly behind the topping rollers16 and'they may be set to take into the ground to any desireddepthbymanipulating a lever 28, which is fulcrumed upon the frame abovethe rear ends ofthe plow beams 9 and is connected with said beams by alink 29, as shown.

' This lever is equipped with the usual latch or holding member 30adapted to engage a segment or rack 31 so that the plows will be held inthe position in which they maybe :set. The topped beet bodies areuprooted lbythe, plows 7 and are raisedby'lifting rollers 32 dlsposedimmediately in rear of the plows'so as to be engaged by a conveyer 44and carried rearwardly so that they may be discharged or gathered inany'well known or preferred manner.

It is thought the operation of my improved machine will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings. As the machine is drawn along the row of plantsthe deflectors 15 will pass under and raise the drooping leaves andstems growing .from'the tops of the beet bodiesor roots and the toppingrollers 16 which are immediately in rear of the said deflectors willpass at opposite sides of the bunched tops. Through the train of gearingshown and described, the said rollers 16 will be simultaneously rotatedin opposite directions and the adjaoent portions of their opposedsurfaces will be moving upwardly. 'These adjacent portions of the saidrollers will, consequently, grip the bunchedtops of the plants and, as aresult, will pull the tops from the plants. 'After the tops arewithdrawnfrom thereby, plows secured to said-beams, and

oppositely rotating parallel beet topping rollers carried by the-plowbeams in advance of the plows.

2. In a beet harvester, the combination of a supporting frame, plowbeams disposed below the front-end of the frame, adjustable hangersmounted on the frame and attached to the plow beams, plows carried bythe rear ends of said beams, and oppositely rotating parallel beettopping rollersxadjustably hung upon the front ends of the plow beams.

3. In a beet harvester, the combination of a main frame, plow beamsdisposed below the front end of the frame, plows carried by the rearends of the plow beams, a lever mounted upon the main frame andconnected to the rear ends of the plow beams to support the same, ahanger secured to the front ends ofthe plow beams and adjustablysupported upon the main frame, a hanger adjust-ably secured to the plowbeams between the ends thereof, and beet topping rollers hung upon andextending between the said last mentioned hanger and the lbiangersecured to the front ends of the plow eams.

4. In a beet harvester, the combination of a main frame, plow beamssuspended from -the front portion of the main frame, plows memberscarried by said bracket and beet topping rollers extending axiallybetween said gathering members and said hanger.

5. In a beet harvester, the combination with a frame, of front and rearbrackets suspended therefrom, deflectors secured to and projecting fromthe front bracket, topping rollers mounted in and extending between thesaid brackets, means for rotating said rollers simultaneously inopposite directions, and skids extending partly over the said rollersand extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom.

6. In a beet harvester, the combination of a main frame, plow beamssuspended therefrom, beet topping rollers carried by the forwardportions of the plow beams, plows secured to the rear ends of the plowbeams,

and means for rotating. said rollers simultaneously in oppositedirections.

7. In a beet harvester, the combination of a main frame, plow beamssuspended from the front end of the main frame, plows carried by therear ends of said beams, a pair of topping rollers hung upon the forwardportions of the plow beams, a flexible shaft,

disposed longitudinally of the frame and connected to one of saidrollers, and means on the frame acting upon the rear end of said shaftto rotate the'same.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS S. MOORE. [L. s.] Witnesses:

' GARRETT GROOMER,

E. E. LEWIS.

